The obtaining of rotary fluidized beds in a fixed circular chamber, making it possible, by virtue of centrifugal force, to pass a dense bed of fluidized solid particles through a very large quantity of fluids with the aid of the injection of said fluids, at high speed, at a tangent to the fixed circular wall delimiting the circular chamber, is known. See the international patent application WO-A-2005/099887 in the name of the same inventor.
The results of experiments and simulations show that the solid particles mix rapidly, as in a stirred reactor. Transfers of heat between the solid particles of the rotary fluidized bed and fluids which pass through the latter are extremely rapid. This makes it possible to control the temperature of the fluidized bed with high precision, even if the interactions between the fluids and the solid particles generate highly exothermic and/or endothermic chemical or physical reactions.
Rotary fluidized beds have a relatively small thickness (radial dimension) and the flow rate of the fluids which pass through the rotary fluidized bed is very high. This allows a very short contact time, of around a few milliseconds, between the fluids and the solid particles in the rotary fluidized bed. The exploitation of this very short contact time is generally encouraged by the use of very fine solid particles, of the order of tens of micrometers, which generally form rotary fluidized beds which are unstable and inhomogeneous since the energy losses due to the turbulence and friction against the lateral walls increase rapidly when the size of the particles decreases. In some cases, it may be necessary to cool the fluids as soon as they have passed through the rotary fluidized bed, this tending to increase the instabilities of the rotary fluidized bed. The feeding of the solid particles into the interior of the circular chamber also generates instabilities.
The use of a rotary chimney as described in the patent application PCT/EP2007/053941 filed by Total Petrochemicals Research Feluy on Apr. 23, 2007 in the name of the same inventor makes it possible to improve the stability and the concentration of the rotary fluidized bed. It also makes it possible to cool the fluids as soon as they pass into the rotary chimney. However, the production and use of a rotary chimney are relatively complex.
The present invention makes it possible to obtain similar results while being easier to produce. It also makes it possible to improve the devices for feeding solids and/or liquids, to ensure good separation between different annular zones of the rotary fluidized bed and fluids which have passed through the rotary fluidized bed. It also makes it possible to control the circulation of the solids between these different annular zones.